Professor Judy Barrett Litoff presents
Multimedia presentation will examine the former Bryant Service Club, which sent letters and care packages to Bryant alumni serving overseas.
In September, more than 1,400 letters written by Bryant alumni who were serving in the military during World War II were rediscovered in the Douglas and Judith Krupp Library storage room. These letters, many of them written in exquisite penmanship, are from a time when there was no Facebook, instant messaging, or e-mail.
The "formal" letters were addressed to the Bryant Service Club, a student organization founded in March 1942 to support Bryant alumni serving our country. The club's mission: "to send monthly packages of cigarettes, candy, cookies, letters, and knitted articles to Bryant men in service from Alaska to Panama, on land and sea, and to conduct war stamp campaigns and first aid classes."
Judy Barrett Litoff, professor of history and distinguished World War II historian, will give a special multimedia presentation on the findings on Thursday, December 11. In attendance will be John Renza '43, who received letters and packages; Howard Peach '42, a former Service Club member; and other Bryant alumni who founded the club or received support while in the military. Four Bryant students are taking part in a directed study in history and will produce a digitally recorded oral history on the project.
Today, Litoff, the student researchers, and members of Bryant's Alumni Relations Office are in West Lebanon, NH, to meet with Wes Crawley a 91-year old, 1936 Bryant graduate, who, along with his brothers Major Cyril Crawley and Walter Crawley, received letters and packages from the Bryant Service Club.
Thinking of you�
About 80 Bryant men and women were known to be serving in the military at the time of club's formation. By 1944, that number rose to more than 600. The club's undertaking became huge, requiring donations of goods and money. It also meant a significant administrative effort in the days before computer databases and copy machines.
Enclosed with the gifts was a typewritten card: "HELLO BRYANT ALUMNUS! Here's a little gift from the Bryant Service Club to tell you that the students of Bryant think of you and are proud of the part you are taking in our country's defense. Good Luck (sic) to you always. Bryant Service Club. Please acknowledge receipt of this package so that we may know we have your correct address for any future packages."
Thanks for the support
Below are excerpts from some of the letters, most of them sent as "thank-yous" for the Service Club's Christmas packages:
Lt. Wesley Crawley, Class of 1936, Italy, December 1943
"Thanks a lot for the candy you sent me for Christmas. The motto we have is 'Don't save anything for tomorrow that you can eat today,' so your candy was good. It is nice to know that you back home really are behind us. Nothing is more discouraging than to hear and read of strikes, etc., back home. But thank God that the number who hinder production, etc., are very few. �The more we get, the fewer the lives that we will lose. We also need good business men and women back home and that's what your job at Bryant is. Do the very best you can as fast as you can. �Schools and colleges in the states are doing their share for victory and the preservation of the peace to follow depends more on them than anything else."
John Renza, Class of 1943, January 1945, Belgium
"I want to acknowledge receipt of your Christmas package containing the sweater. � The package was received on 18 December - quite some time ago but this has been the first time I've had to myself to take care of some personal correspondence. The reason is that a couple of days after, we were forced to face the enemy, and since then we were on the go right along. Rather a nice way to have spent the holidays, isn't it? As a result of all the commotion, I lost all of my personal belongings plus my Christmas packages which I had received a few days before. The only gift which was saved was your sweater, and only because I was wearing it. I'm so glad now that I had it on my person, otherwise I would have lost it, too."
Bob Clark, Class of 1940, January 1944, Tehran, Iran
"As you know, we were recently in the news when they had that conference here. [The Tehran Conference, Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 1943, the first of "the Big Three" meetings between FDR, Churchill, Stalin.] I was fortunate enough to be a member of the President's honor guard, so I got a chance to get a good look at him and a bunch of other big shots. When the President landed here, I couldn't have been more than ten feet away when they took him off the plane. I never saw so many big shots in my life. I also got a chance to see Churchill and Stalin, although not from such a close-up position. � I only hope that their being here will shorten the war and get us home a bit sooner."
The "formal" letters were addressed to the Bryant Service Club, a student organization founded in March 1942 to support Bryant alumni serving our country. The club's mission: "to send monthly packages of cigarettes, candy, cookies, letters, and knitted articles to Bryant men in service from Alaska to Panama, on land and sea, and to conduct war stamp campaigns and first aid classes."
Judy Barrett Litoff, professor of history and distinguished World War II historian, will give a special multimedia presentation on the findings on Thursday, December 11. In attendance will be John Renza '43, who received letters and packages; Howard Peach '42, a former Service Club member; and other Bryant alumni who founded the club or received support while in the military. Four Bryant students are taking part in a directed study in history and will produce a digitally recorded oral history on the project.
Today, Litoff, the student researchers, and members of Bryant's Alumni Relations Office are in West Lebanon, NH, to meet with Wes Crawley a 91-year old, 1936 Bryant graduate, who, along with his brothers Major Cyril Crawley and Walter Crawley, received letters and packages from the Bryant Service Club.
Thinking of you�
About 80 Bryant men and women were known to be serving in the military at the time of club's formation. By 1944, that number rose to more than 600. The club's undertaking became huge, requiring donations of goods and money. It also meant a significant administrative effort in the days before computer databases and copy machines.
Enclosed with the gifts was a typewritten card: "HELLO BRYANT ALUMNUS! Here's a little gift from the Bryant Service Club to tell you that the students of Bryant think of you and are proud of the part you are taking in our country's defense. Good Luck (sic) to you always. Bryant Service Club. Please acknowledge receipt of this package so that we may know we have your correct address for any future packages."
Thanks for the support
Below are excerpts from some of the letters, most of them sent as "thank-yous" for the Service Club's Christmas packages:
Lt. Wesley Crawley, Class of 1936, Italy, December 1943
"Thanks a lot for the candy you sent me for Christmas. The motto we have is 'Don't save anything for tomorrow that you can eat today,' so your candy was good. It is nice to know that you back home really are behind us. Nothing is more discouraging than to hear and read of strikes, etc., back home. But thank God that the number who hinder production, etc., are very few. �The more we get, the fewer the lives that we will lose. We also need good business men and women back home and that's what your job at Bryant is. Do the very best you can as fast as you can. �Schools and colleges in the states are doing their share for victory and the preservation of the peace to follow depends more on them than anything else."
John Renza, Class of 1943, January 1945, Belgium
"I want to acknowledge receipt of your Christmas package containing the sweater. � The package was received on 18 December - quite some time ago but this has been the first time I've had to myself to take care of some personal correspondence. The reason is that a couple of days after, we were forced to face the enemy, and since then we were on the go right along. Rather a nice way to have spent the holidays, isn't it? As a result of all the commotion, I lost all of my personal belongings plus my Christmas packages which I had received a few days before. The only gift which was saved was your sweater, and only because I was wearing it. I'm so glad now that I had it on my person, otherwise I would have lost it, too."
Bob Clark, Class of 1940, January 1944, Tehran, Iran
"As you know, we were recently in the news when they had that conference here. [The Tehran Conference, Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 1943, the first of "the Big Three" meetings between FDR, Churchill, Stalin.] I was fortunate enough to be a member of the President's honor guard, so I got a chance to get a good look at him and a bunch of other big shots. When the President landed here, I couldn't have been more than ten feet away when they took him off the plane. I never saw so many big shots in my life. I also got a chance to see Churchill and Stalin, although not from such a close-up position. � I only hope that their being here will shorten the war and get us home a bit sooner."
